Today Is A Good Day
by VisualIDentificationZeta
Summary: HarmJen SUMMARY: A rain storm, a broken down car and a friend in the need of help. And it's just the beginning.
1. Chapter 1

Title: Today Is A Good Day

Author: Vid Z.

Pairing: Harm/Jen

Category: Angst, alot of Romance, Fluff - you'll get sugar shock.

Warnings: character death, but it's not really, read to find out! I hate character death fics (they make me depressed) so that should say it all on how this one ends.

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc of the TV show JAG. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author of this fic. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

Size: 71kb in rtf format.

Thanks: to Lynn for her continuing support and encouraging me to never give up when I had a block. You're the greatest, Lynn!

Tnx also to Suz for her help and suggestions.

This is my answer to the flashback/dreams challenge on JagHarmJenShippers yahoo group.

AN #1: I chose the title for this fic after one of my favorite songs by my favorite group. Manowar's "Today Is A Good Day To Die" is the most powerful instrumental-only song I have ever heard (except for the classics by Beethoven, Mozart, Barber,...). The song starts with thunder, rain and lightening. Sounds of a furious storm, with which this fic starts. Then the drums start to beat. Main instruments are the guitar and the drums, no vocals. A fantastic, very powerful song that leaves few people unaffected. You can find it on the album "Louder than Hell".

AN #2: I've never had a Ford, I'm just going along with what people spread on the net about it, which means that this myth is not necessarily true. I'm just using the stereotype in this fic cause it helps the plot.

AN #3: for this fic Mattie had returned to her father sometime in October.

AN #4: I don't know how old Jen is by canon. The actress is 32, I decided to make her 28.

AN #5: I'm from Europe, so I don't have a clue about DC's and it's vicinity's topography, so I don't know how far it is from DC to Blacksburg (if it even exists), but during a stormy night, looking out for a stranded vehicle, a one way drive takes about 3 hours in my world. Something may have been said on the show on this topic, but I haven't seen it.

AN #6: this is a Harm/Jen centric fic, meaning that most of the focus is directed at their friendship and budding romance. Other JAG characters will only pop up occasionally, but hold no say in the plot. Of everyone else at JAG, Cresswell will have the longest and most important appearance. He will look out of character to some, but I wanted to explore the man behind the professional mask. He may seem too soft to some, but even Marines are people!

Praise and constructive criticism will be accepted with a grateful smile; flames will be used to keep the fireplace burning.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A ROAD IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE

0124 PM local

14th November 2004

The rain was coming down hard, making poor visibility even worse. The black tarmac of the road surface, which swallowed the light of the headlights on a good dry night, was just a wide black hole in the middle of the horizon. While on dry nights it reflected little light as it is, in these conditions it seemed to swallow it wholly.

The windshield wipers were working over-time and Harm imagined he could see smoke coming from the little electric engines running them. The heat was on full blast, fighting to keep out the cold that was coming in through the cracks in the car's bodywork and through it's soft, convertible roof. The radio was on, but only as a background noise, set on the stations that transmitted traffic and road conditions reports.

It was times like these that Harm wondered why he didn't keep his Lexus in the garage. The SUV was at the mechanic's, waiting for new tires to arrive.

Harm cursed again, wishing he would've caught the punk, who had slashed all the SUV's tires, red handed. He would've taught him some respect for other people's property.

While not violent by nature, few things upset Harm more than people with no respect for other people's lives and property. He was especially angry now, since he had to take the Vette out into this cold and rain. It was just a question of time before the water on the ground turned into ice and the Vette was notoriously bad in these kind of conditions.

Wind tunnel testing, computer calculated optimal designs of the chassis, full knowledge of downforces, aerodynamic and crush zones were a thing of science fiction at the time this car was designed.

Though the designers knew how to make a sports car which behaved nicely during optimal road conditions and race tracks, current conditions were far from optimal. Even SUVs aren't exactly prime candidates for driving in such conditions. Their excessive weight, wide tires, soft suspension and long wheel base often has them flummoxed by ice patches, snow and mud.+

What was now needed was a true off-road vehicle. It was times like these Harm longed for a Humvee, gas-guzzling as they are, they were still some of the safest vehicles on the road and ice was nothing to them.

Harm internally smiled at the thought of driving to work through Washington in a Humvee with the full optional package: .50 caliber machine gun on the roof, armored glass and bodywork, snorkel, camo paint (perhaps urban or skyblue camo), reinforced roll cage,... His 85 years old neighbour, Mrs. Braebourn, would probably have a heart attack if she saw him come driving home in that beast.

A gentle smile spread across his face at the thought of that sweet little old lady, who baked him cookies and always said he should eat more.

He rubbed his tired, red eyes, squinting when he thought he saw something in the distance. 'No, it was just a road sign.'

It was over midnight when he got the call. Her car broke down in the middle of nowhere, during one of the worst rain storms of the year. She was coming home late, was visiting a friend and forgot the time.

'Aha, there is something out there!'

He squinted and could just make out something orange flashing in the dark.

He slowed down to a near-crawl and recognized the emergency indicators of the stranded light blue 1991 Ford Sierra.

'FORD, Found On Road Dead' thought Harm with a sarcastic twist to his lips.

He pulled over to the side of the road, turning on his own emergency indicators so that anyone, crazy enough to drive around in such a weather, would see him and wouldn't ram him.

Just as he was getting ready to get out, he saw a movement out of the corner of his eyes.

Turning his head to the left he saw a figure get out of the Ford, hunched up in defence against the wind and the rain, turning briefly towards the car's doors, he assumed to lock them, and dash across the road towards the Vette. He left the headlights on so she wouldn't hit the front end in the dark.

Then Harm hurriedly turned in his seat to open the right side door and quickly fished out a duffel bag from behind his seat.

By the time he turned back around the right side door opened and in climbed a drenched Jennifer Coates, Yeoman of the JAG of the United States Navy, his neighbour and one of his best friends.

Even soaked through like a mouse, caught out in the field by a summer storm, she still took his breath away.

Hair wet and plastered to her head, the clothes soaked through and clinging to her body, lovingly accentuating her seductive womanly curves, red in the face from the cold and shivering like a car radio antenna in the wind, she was still the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. He was thankful to his foresight in bringing with him a duffle with spare clothes for her to change into.

In her hands she held her coat, which she took off just before getting into the car and handed it to Harm, who took it and stuffed it into a plastic bag, which he brought along solely for this purpose.

Out of the duffle bag he handed her a towel, which she took with a grateful smile and proceeded to dry her hair and her clothes. While she was doing this he rummaged in the duffle bag again and took out one of his old, baggy sweatshirts, which he put on the dashboard for Jen to use.

-----------

speaking from personal experience. I've seen SUVs, from big to small, dance all over the road when it was snowing, while my Chrysler Le Baron stuck to the road like it was nailed to it. I love that car.


	2. Chapter 2

AN: as some of you have already realized, this was posted once before, but I took it off the net because I was alerted by a friend to some errors. Now I'm reposting it repaired and making slight changes along the way.

I would also like to thank you all for your support and for giving my fics a chance, even though they are far from all the normal pairings. Thank you!

--------------------

gree: I also write other pairings, not just Harm/Jen. One of my other currently posted fics is a Harm/Singer fic. In my personal profile you can also find Harm/Meg, Harm/Mac fics and the Drabble Series, which was written that way specifically so that any reader can insert the female character, they want with Harm, in the role of his significant other.

As for frat regs: I am very aware of frat regs, since I have researched them personally. I also have a copy of them on my disk. I write fics in such way that Harm and Jen do not break them. Before they even enter a relationship either one of them resigns, or they have been in a committed relationship before Jen's enlistment (married), or they get married without dating first (either by choice or due to some circumstances, as in the fic "What A Mistaka To Maka"). Frat regs, while forbidding dating and sexual relationships, they allow officer/enlisted marriages. This is all explored and explained in depth in my fic "What A Mistaka To Maka". Whatever way I choose, rest assured, they won't break the regs.

Now on with the fic.

----------------------------

----------------------------

----------------------------

Jen finished drying off and Harm averted his eyes to give her the privacy she deserved. She didn't even ask him to look the other way, because she was in too big of a hurry to get out of her cold, wet sweater to give any thought to privacy and even if she had thought of it, she knew Harm is too much of a gentleman to oggle her. She swiftly removed her sweater and T-shirt in one move and quickly pulled the offered sweatshirt over her head.

As soon as the sweatshirt was in place, her senses were assaulted and overwhelmed by the smell of Harm. Even though it was clean, it still held the scent of his aftershave and the scent she could only categorize as Harm. 'Oh, god, this was not a good idea. I'm already too aware of him and now this.'

For a few seconds she felt dizzy from the sensations, but then managed to pull herself together.

Harm had also brought along some sweat pants and she proved her agility by managing to take off her wet jeans and replace them with the dry, warm sweat pants in the confines of the small car.

Last, but not least, was the thermo full of hot coffee, which Harm prepared while getting dressed at home. Jen, who was warmed even more by his thoughtfulness, quickly unscrewed the top, poured the coffee into a cup and took a grateful sip. Immediately letting out a happy sigh, feeling warmth spread through her cold, shivering body. 'Now, this is heaven. Harm is such a sweet and thoughtful guy. How is it possible that he's still single?'

She turned her head towards Harm who was still looking the other way. She touched his arm to get his attention.

When Harm turned to Jen he lost his breath again. She was giving him a thankful smile, the appreciation for everything he did for her tonight was shown clearly in every feature of her beautiful face and in her expressive, chocolate eyes. 'My god, she's so beautiful. Why are there such things as frat regs?'

He composed himself just in time to hear her start talking.

"Sir, thank you for coming out here in the middle of the night." she took a breath and then continued "You can't imagine how grateful I am to you. Few people would be willing to just get out of bed and drive for over one hour in the middle of the night and in such a bad weather, even for a friend. So, thank you."

Harm interrupted her with the wave of a hand and with a smile pulling at his lips. She was just so adorable when she was babbling.

"Jen, it's okay. We're best friends and you know I'll always help if I can. And call me Harm, not sir. It makes me feel old and, besides, we're off duty." 'Best friends... That's all we are allowed to be. Even though I love you so much it hurts at times.' Harm sighed sadly, the reality again pressing down on him.

"You're not old, in fact..." Jen said quickly and immediately cut herself off, when she realized how vehemently she protested. She sank back into her seat and tried to make herself invisible. 'Please, don't tell me I really almost said that. Please, ground, swallow me. This is so embarrassing.'

Harm had to fight hard not to laugh at seeing her flustered expression and the intense blush that crept from her chest to her hair. It felt good to his ego, which was not as big as Mac always believed it was, that Jen didn't think of him as of an old, grumpy Commander.

His insecurities increased when he woke up one day and realized he was of the rank and age of his instructors at the Academy, of whom he at the time thought of as "old people". This made his already bruised ego take even more beating.

Mac had once accused him of having an ego too big to fit into the cockpit of his Tomcat. But it seems she didn't know him enough to realize that it was all just show and facade. In reality he was a shy and insecure man when it came to his personal and love life. He rarely made the first move on a woman out of fear of rejection, especially if the woman sent out vibes that his attention was unwanted, like being hostile towards him or choosing someone else over him. Usually it was the women who made the first move. He knew he was good looking, but never took advantage of it. He also never had a woman in every port, contrary to what most people believed. He was never stupid and was always aware of the dangers of one-night-stands. In his whole life he was involved with only 4 women: Gym, Annie, Jordan and Renee. He and Diane were never involved. They were very good friends, but there were no romantic feelings on either side and both knew it. It was true what he said to Mac about him and Diane spending the weekend to discuss the future. But it was not meant in the way she thought it was. Diane wanted to get a transfer to the mainland to be closer to her ailing parents and they were supposed to plan her transfer and everything else over that weekend. But it was not to be. An out of control XO destroyed all their plans and their lives with one stupid act.

Contrary to common belief he was never involved with Maria, the flight attendant. She was a friend of his and he took her under his roof when her plane had a layover in D.C.. If Krennick assumed there was something more, he didn't negate it, because it helped to keep the Dragon Lady at bay. Even a temporary relief from her unwanted advances was welcomed. Harm and Maria had a good laugh over Krennick's reaction to finding Maria under his shower.

And Harm's last relationship was over 3 years ago. Even though Alicia Montes blatantly showed her interest, Harm didn't want to get involved with her. She was a nice woman, who would make some man very happy, but it would not be him.

Harm was startled out of his musings by a gentle hand on his forearm and brown eyes, filled with worry, staring up at him.

He realized he had zoned out while staring at Jen and it was his turn to blush.

Quickly turning around to hide the redness on his face, he turned on the engine.

The engine roared to life and Harm executed a careful U-turn and then started off in the direction of home.

Silence settled over them and Harm wanted it to go away. 'Well, this is uncomfortable. I just had to zone out, didn't I? And now she's worrying for nothing.'

Jen was sipping her coffee and glancing at him from time to time with a thoughtful look in her eyes. 'What brought on that sad, hurt and lonely look into his eyes? Was it something I said? No, I'm sure that's not it. Then what was it?'

Trying to divert her attention, he decided to ask what has been bugging him since she called him. Taking a breath he started.

"Jen?"

His voice cut into the silence and she jumped a little, startled by it. Harm saw this and felt guilty for scaring her.

"Sorry, didn't mean to startle you."

She shook her head to clear it of her musings and answered.

"It's okay, sir... Er, I mean, Harm. I was just thinking about something."

It was quiet again and Harm debated whether to leave her to her thoughts or just proceed. He decided to just go ahead.

Just when Jen thought he wasn't going to say anything more, he continued.

"I just wanted to ask what happened to your car to strand you out here like that and what were you doing at such a late hour on the road."

Jen frowned remembering the events leading to her being let down by her car.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


	3. Chapter 3

/FLASHBACK TO EARLIER THAT NIGHT/

Mattie watched the rear lights of Jen's Sierra disappear down the road.

They've spent the whole Sunday together, enjoying each other's company. It's been awhile since they last saw each other in October when Mattie left D.C. to go live with her father.

Having lived together for 10 months, they missed each other's company and companionship of a good friend.

Plus Mattie wanted the latest scoop on Harm and the new JAG.

So Jen drove up to Blacksburg in the early morning, looking forward to spending time with the young girl who was, for all intents and purposes, her ward for 10 months. Though neither voiced this, but they both knew that Jen was sharing two important roles: the mother role and the older sister role.

Which made it complicated sometimes, to say the least. That's an understatement when trying to describe all other aspects of this unconventional (though functional), makeshift family.

Being a mother to a girl only 13 years younger than herself and at the same time being a 13 years older sister to that same girl, being an equal parent with the father of the family, with whom she was forbidden to have a loving and committed relationship, who was almost 13 years older,... To say things weren't exactly simple would be a gross understatement.

But, amazingly enough, it worked marvelously. For them. Who knows how it would've worked for any other family. They were just 3 perfect pieces of a 3-piece puzzle.

After enjoying a wonderful day with her former ward/daughter/sister, Jen realized too late that she forgot to watch the time. It was Sunday night, around 2300 hours and she had work the next morning. And heaven knows, she didn't want to get on the bad side of the new JAG, who looked like a bear with a sore paw.

The Sierra was an old car, not in a mint condition, but it served her well. Most of the time. Okay, half of the time. But she couldn't afford anything better on her paycheck and due the fact that she lived in D.C. where rent is expensive. She was sure Har... Commander Rabb would've lent her the Lexus had she asked (as he had many times in the past), he probably would've offered it himself knowing that rain was forecasted for the evening, but she also knew that the SUV was waiting for new tires at the mechanic's.

And this forecast was also another reason why she beat herself up for not paying attention to the time.

All was going well until half way to D.C.. That is until the car decided to prove that it was a cliche on wheels. Found On Road Dead, indeed.

At first there were some strange occasional noises. Since that had happened before Jen was not worried about it.

Well, she became worried when she stepped on the clutch to downshift and changed the gear, wanting to drop the speed due to weather and it was then that a horrible tearing sound shot through the interior of the vehicle.

For a moment she froze in fear of what happened, but she immediately recovered and removed her foot from the clutch. The car jerked violently, dropping speed roughly, while roaring like a wounded lion. Jen tried to change it to a higher gear, but it would not cooperate.

Whatever broke, it must've been in the gearbox and had her stuck in the 2nd gear. She was unable to change gears and was forced to drive forth in 2nd gear.

As if that wasn't enough, the fate decided to mess with her even more and the broken off part suddenly got stuck in the gearbox's mechanism, breaking the axle. This resulted in the gearbox being completely destroyed and leaving her stranded with a broken down vehicle in the middle of the night, in the middle of nowhere, in a storm.

When the horrifying realization of what had just happened struck Jen, she panicked for a few seconds. Then she remembered that panicking will make the situation even worse and calmed herself down.

She had to call for help, because there was no way for her to repair the car by herself. It would probably need a new gearbox and she didn't have one of those just lying around in the trunk.

Mattie and her Dad were out of the question, they only had an old beat up pick-up truck and Jen didn't want anything to happen to them in that thing. Besides, who can guarantee that that old thing wouldn't break down as well? Bud and Harriet were also out, because they had two small children, Bud had a job in the morning and Harriett was pregnant. And you really don't want to get on a pregnant woman's bad side.

Col. MacKenzie was also out of the question, since they weren't really friends, just co-workers and she didn't want to bother her. Plus, her Corvette wasn't a storm car and Mac was no trained race car driver and had no training in the handling of sports cars. Even though it was known Mac liked to drive fast, Jen didn't exactly trust her driving capabilities for the sole reason of never having driven with her.

Which brought her to Harm, er, Commander Rabb. 'I has to stop thinking of him as Harm' she chastised herself, 'he's an officer and therefore out of reach.'

Even though she was fully aware the Commander also had a Vette, she knew he was a very competent driver, who drove by the speed limits and had the lightening fast reflexes of a Naval Aviator. Since he WAS a Naval Aviator. He has also been driving powerful cars, like the Corvette, since he was an Ensign and restored the '68 Corvette, which had served him with pride, until it was stolen and stripped apart for parts. With so many years of experience and such reflexes he was fully capable of being able to handle the Vette in any situation and any weather condition. Plus, since Jen had hitched a ride with the Commander on numerous occasions she was very well aware of his driving capabilities and trusted in him implicitly.

Making a decision she fished out her cell phone out of her purse, pressed the speed dial 2 (1 was for JAG HQ) and waited.

The Commander picked up after 10 rings and was, even though she knew she woke him up, immediately willing to help. She didn't even have to ask him for a favor after explaining her situation, because he just told her to sit tight and that he is coming to get her.

Hanging up the phone, Jen imagined him quickly getting dressed, all those muscle working and tensing,...

'Shit, bad Jen. Very bad Jen. Thou must not have lustful thoughts about Ha..er, Commander Rabb. Even though he has such a gorgeous... Aaaah, think cold shower, VERY cold shower' Jen was getting flushed from her guilty thoughts, partly from the image of a half naked Commander and partly out of guilt of thinking that way about the man who helped her so much. She opened the window to let the cold air in and to help her clear her head.

After she was sufficiently clear headed, she realized that now she was too cold. 'Great. And I have only my hormones to thank for that.'

Flipping on the emergency indicators to avoid anyone ramming into her ('What is the chance of anyone else being crazy enough to go out at such a late hour in such a weather?' she thought humourlessly, 'But better safe than sorry.') and turning off the lights to preserve the car's battery, she settled herself in for the long wait.

After about an hour and a half she saw lights in the distance. As they came nearer she recognized the headlights of a vintage Corvette and prepared herself for a quick transfer to the other vehicle. It couldn't have been anyone else than her neighbour. This was confirmed when the Vette slowed to a stop on the other side of the road.

Jen grabbed her purse, gathered her coat around herself and jumped out of her car...

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


	4. Chapter 4

/PRESENT/

"And the rest you know, sir. I mean, Harm." she finished her tale, flushing at the sound of his name rolling off her tongue.

Harm quickly glanced at her and then directed his concentration back to the road.

"I don't think your gearbox can be repaired, Jen. From what you've told me, it looks like a complete loss. Though I don't think it will be hard to find another one. Best deal would probably be some junkyard. Some of those wrecks still have fully functional parts. I know that, since I found quite a few parts for both of my Vettes at such places. And it's cheap too. We'll start looking tomorrow."

Jen made a sound, indicating she was listening to him, hiding the thrill that washed over her when she heard he would help her with her car. That also meant spending more precious off-duty time with him, because of which no one could cause trouble for them, since he would've been helping her fix her car. On the contrary, he was going to be unselfishly helping his co-worker retain her ability to go to work. A glass half full instead of half empty and legal loop-holes...

Harm continued.

"We will just have to arrange for a tow truck for your car tomorrow, I mean today. God, these early/late hours completely mess up my sense of time. Sometimes I wish I had Mac's internal clock. Uh, then again maybe not. It can't be fun to always know exactly how much time had passed. Especially if you are bored in the briefing."

Harm and Jen shared a little laugh at that, recognizing the truth in the words. Briefings could get a little dull. Or too intense, if the Admiral was in a bad mood ('It's a General now, no more Admiral Cheggwidden.' they had to remind themselves) and you wanted a false sense of security that it was almost over. At such times it was better being able to fool yourself that it will be over soon. An accurate internal clock would mean real torture. At that thought Harm felt sorry for his ex-partner, knowing that briefings were even harder on her because of her internal clock, harder than on anyone else. He also felt grateful he didn't understand Farsi when she explained to him how to have an internal clock of his own.

Yes, there is bliss in ignorance sometimes he concluded.

--------------

Changing the topic back to lighter conversation, discussing how each of their days went, how Mattie was,... helped to make the drive much shorter and more pleasant.

They were near D.C. when a car came around the bend, rather quickly in Harm's opinion.

Harm himself was driving very carefully, fully aware that he had a passenger and that the Vette wasn't built for driving in such weather.

He slowed down even further, moving closer to the outer edge of the road, because he had a bad feeling about the incoming vehicle.

His gut instinct was proven right when the other car's rear wheels suddenly lost grip, while being only 5 meters away from them and it started fishtailing over the road.

Harm quickly reacted, driving onto the road's shoulder, but it was too late. The other car struck the Vette in it's left rear corner, the force of the hit causing the Vette's rear to bounce in the other direction, fishtailing also.

Harm quickly tried to get the tail under control, almost succeeding, when the Vette hit a patch of ice and all was lost. Harm lost control of the car, it started spinning, going sideways off the road and towards an old barn, that stood there.

Jen looked to where they were going and screamed in terror when she saw a long piece of wood sticking out of the barn's walls, aimed straight at them. She had no doubt what it would mean to have that wood penetrate the car's door on her side. Jen turned her eyes towards Harm, who in turn looked at her and in that fragment of a second they looked into each other's souls, seeing there the love they had for each other.

Harm, in the last attempt to protect her, somehow managed to make the car spin around once more. It had just completed the turn, when it hit the barn and the piece of wood went through Harm's doors like a hot knife through butter. A horrible, sickening sound of wood drilling into flesh and muscle was heard and then blackness.

--------------

A family, who lived nearby, was woken up by the sounds of the crash and the twisting of metal. When they came to investigate, they were faced with the scene out of a nightmare.

A vintage red Corvette hit the barn's walls, going partially through them and having them collapse on the car. Inside the car were two people, obviously unconscious and trapped in the vehicle.

Police and ambulance were quickly called and the parents set out to secure and mark the site of the crash, after sending their children home.

The cops and the EMTs arrived quickly, escorted by the fire-fighters, who were armed with the metal-cutting tools, used for rescuing people trapped in cars.

They quickly set to work, cops putting up barricades, fire-fighters began cutting out the trapped passengers and the medics preparing for quick action.

--------------

As Jen came to, the first thing she smelled was the leaking gas. Snapping out of the fog, she immediately opened her eyes to see the welcomed sight of emergency vehicles parked everywhere, with the red and blue lights flashing.

The two medics, who were taking care of her injuries, tried to get her attention.

"Ma'am, please hold still. We have to take care of your injuries and see if there are any more." Since she was awake they pointed a pen light in her eyes, checking for proper pupil dilation, looking for signs of a concussion. They were glad that no sings of it were found.

Jen caught sight of something out of the corner of her eyes. Something dark red.

She looked in that direction and gasped in horror.

It was not so much the state of the Vette that shocked her, it was more the state Harm was in as the fire-fighters pulled him out of the wreck. He had a laceration from where he hit the side window with his head, a neck brace to prevent any spinal injuries and there was blood all over him. But what shocked her most was the wound which was made by that piece of wood. The sight of it made her nauseous, she quickly leaned over the side of the gurney on which she was resting and proceded to vomit.

The medics quickly reached for her, concerned that she did have a concussion, but she just waved in Harm's direction and they immediately understood.

Turning back around she saw that the medics, who were working on Harm, were preparing to lift him into the back of the ambulance.

Jen forced herself to stand up, ignoring the medic's cries for her to stop and started towards Harm.

She was almost there when they caught up to her.

"Mrs. Rabb, you yourself are injured. You can't go with him. You need to let us see to your injuries."

Jen didn't bother correcting their assumption that she was married to Harm and turned towards them with a pleading look on her face, her eyes begging them to let her go.

"I'm going with him. Please, let me go with him! I promise I won't get in the way, I just need to be with him."

The medic hesitated a moment and then nodded.

"Okay, Mrs. Rabb, but you stay out of the way of the medic working on your husband. I'm going with you to take care of your wounds."

Jen was just about ready to concede to anything, just to go with Harm. She nodded and they both started running towards the other vehicle.

-----------------


	5. Chapter 5

When they reached it, Harm was already in it, one medic working on him, the other was just about to close the back door. Jen squeezed past him and jumped in. The medic closing the door was just about to stop her, when he was stopped by the one who came with her.

"It's okay, Jack, she's his wife. She promised not to get in the way."

Jack nodded and replied.

"Okay, but if anything goes wrong, it's on your head, George." George agreed, got in and closed the door behind himself. Jack quickly ran to the driver's side, got in, started the car and accelerated towards the nearest hospital.

Jen had heard everything they said, also about her being married to Harm. She said nothing, figuring that if they thought she's his wife, instead of just a friend, they would give her any information on Harm's condition more readily. It was also nice to live her fantasy even for a little while. 'They probably got Harm's name after the police checked the Vette's registration in their computer. And if they found our IDs, well, it's not unusual for a woman to keep her maiden name after getting married. But if Harm and I were to get maried, I would proudly carry his name.'

She sat down by Harm's head, a hand on his uninjured shoulder, tears streaming down her face and let the medic George do his job, all the while pleading for Harm to hold on and not to leave her.

When they were still 15 minutes away from the hospital and a fully equipped ER, the alarms attached to Harm started to go off.

Immediately both medics started on Harm and Jen moved away so they had space.

"His blood pressure is falling. He's not breathing!"

George started giving Harm CPR.

Then a shrill beep penetrated the air.

"I've lost his pulse!"

"Give me the defibrillator!"

"Set to 200!"

"Stay clear!"

A stream of electricity shot through Harm's body, making it jump from the shock. Jen closed her eyes, tears streaming down her face and kept repeating softly.

"Please, Harm. Please don't leave me. I love you. Don't leave me alone."

"Set to 250, clear!"

No reaction.

After ten minutes the EMTs gave up.

"Time of death 0411 AM, on 15th November 2004".

Jen broke down, sobs wreaking her slight figure and collapsed onto Harm's body. She never knew this kind of anguish, not even when her mother died. It was tearing her heart apart, the pain unbearable. Life without Harm wasn't worth living. Why couldn't she have died with him, at least that way they could've been together. She threw her head back in grief and screamed.

"NOOOOO..."

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

AN: trust me guys, I'm a Harm fan. This is the last sad chapter.


	6. Chapter 6

AN: I would like to thank paddington for the correct information on EMTs, paramedics and declaring time of death. But for the purpose of this story, EMTs can declare time of death and not just doctors. There are probably also some other errors in this fic regarding medical procedures and such, but I tried not to veer too far away from them, because the way it is, it is needed for the plot. Thank you.

--------------

"...OOOOOOOOOOO!"

Jen shot upright in bed, crying her eyes out, bathed in sweat.

Harm, who had been trying to wake her up for the last few minutes, almost got his nose broken for his efforts, but moved away in time.

Jen opened her eyes, tears slipping down her cheeks, trembling, when she looked around.

'Where is the ambulance? What happened?'

Harm, who recovered from the shock of her awakening, slipped his arms around her and drew her into his chest. He rubbed his hands down her arms and her back, trying to comfort her.

"It's okay, Baby, it was just a nightmare. I'm here, it's okay. You were just dreaming, it didn't happen..."

Jen finally recognized the surroundings of their bedroom, letting herself melt into him and rested her head on his shoulder.

Harm just held her, murmuring comforting words, being there for her. He would not pressure her, when she was ready to talk, he would listen.

After a few minutes she finally calmed herself down enough, to tell him.

"I was back to the night of the crash two years ago. You know, the night I almost lost you. But this time the medics couldn't revive you and I really lost you."

She broke out into fresh sobs again, still remembering the pain and fear of that night, when she had almost lost her soul mate forever.

"It's okay, Jennifer. You didn't lose me. You gave me the strength to hold on. I heard you tell me you love me and it gave me the will to fight. You brought me back." It was the second anniversary of the crash and it didn't surprise him that she had nightmares about it. The truth was he had them sometimes too. Wanting to drive away the horrors plaguing the love of his life, he just continued to hold her and murmur comforting words to her, healing her with his love.

Jen just let him sooth her, letting his love chase away the horror of the nightmare.

Suddenly a piercing wail disturbed the relative quiet of the house.

Harm's hold tightened for a second and then he let her go. Kissing her hair he said:

"Don't worry, I'll feed him and change him. You just rest."

Harm got out of their bed, pulled on some boxers and a robe and started off in the direction of the nursery.

Jen hugged herself as the heat of Harm's body left her and looked at her wedding rings. She thought back to how they came to be on her hand.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Soon after the EMTs had saved Harm's life, the ambulance stopped in front of the emergency entrance of a local hospital.

Harm was rushed into the ER where they proceeded to operate on him.

Jen's injuries were also tended to, while she was waiting on word about Harm.

Everyone was still referring to her as Mrs. Rabb and she let them. It just meant she would get the info on Harm more easily, plus she liked the sound of that very much.

She was diagnosed with numerous bruises, lacerations and a sprained shoulder. She was soon finished and settled herself in for a long wait in the ER's family waiting room.

Around 7 AM she called Cresswell to notify him of what happened, so he would know why she and Harm wouldn't be reporting for duty. Cresswell told her he would be there that afternoon and assured her that their co-workers would be notified. She also explained to the General what she and Harm were doing in the same car in the middle of the night. Cresswell wasn't happy that his staff were driving around in such conditions, in such unreliable vehicles. Immediately after that she also called Mattie. She tried to break it to her gently, but with no effect. Mattie started sobbing hysterically when she heard what happened to them and that they were almost killed both. She promised that she and her father would be immediately on their way to the hospital.

Soon Harm was out of the surgery and she was notified that he would be moved to the ICU, where she could stay with him. The doctor assured her that the damage to his leg was repaired, but that Harm would have a long physical therapy before him before he could walk properly.. Aside from the thigh wound from where the wood penetrated it, he also had a light concussion from hitting his head in the side window and numerous bruises and lacerations. which were also the reason for the huge blood loss he experienced.

Jen pulled up a chair to Harm's bed, took his free hand in hers and prepared herself for a long wait. Some cops came by to take her statement about what happened. They also told her that the driver, who caused the accident, somehow got his own car under control and continued on his way. But not for long. He had alcohol levels way past legal in his blood, which is why he hit them. These levels were also the cause why he later on hit her own car, which was standing by the side of the road and completely destroyed it. It was a direct hit and the driver was dead before the ambulance arrived. Both the Vette and her car were total losses. There were even more accidents on that road, which prevented Mattie and Mr. Johnson from getting to the hospital.

Later that afternoon they had visitors. Lt. Col. MacKenzie, Lt. Cmdr. Roberts, Major General Cresswell and Cmdr. Turner were the first ones there.

Mac offered to take Jen to Harm's mechanic when the tires for the Lexus arrived, which Jen gratefully accepted. The tires were already paid for and since Jen was there when Harm ordered them, she would have no problem picking up the car. That way they would have at least 1 car at their disposal, for when Harm was released from the hospital.

And with that in mind Jen knew she would have to talk to the General soon.

-----------------


	7. Chapter 7

Her opportunity arose when the man himself came by a short time later. With a determined, commanding walk he crossed the ICU area and stopped short in front of Harm's room.

He hesitated for a little, not sure what he would see in there, but then reached out and turned the handle.

The sight that greeted him was something he never would've expected to see. The Commander, who was always so full of life and always had such a presence, was laying in his bed, unaware of the world around him.

Though the General had never seen the Commander smiling or even happy, he was struck by how quiet and pale the man was. Even the sheets surrounding him had more colour than his face. There was also a multitude of tubes and wires attached to him, all leading to every kind of monitoring equipment he could've imagined.

The massive muscular body, which spoke of a life dedicated to a lot of physical work and of dedication to it's health and which made Gordon sure would be a real challenge, if not impossible, to beat in a physical battle, looked small and fragile. He suddenly realized that a lot of that presence that the Commander radiated was due to the pure force of his intense and incredibly strong personality.

His gaze then slid from the prostate form to the one holding it's hand. PO Coates sat in the chair by the bed, holding Harm's hand and whispering softly to him. 'Is there something going on with them that I should know about?'

The General coughed slightly to get Jen's attention.

At the sound of the cough Jen's head whipped around, her face blanching and eyes widening in horror. She hadn't heard him come in, so he must've seen her holding Harm's hand and talking softly to him. The moment she feared and hoped for was suddenly upon her.

Deciding that what happens happens, she squared her shoulders and faced the General.

Gordon was surprised and impressed by his Yeoman's courage in facing him after being, in what seemed to him, a compromising position.

She signaled him to keep quiet and motioned that they should go outside and talk there. He preceeded her to the corridor, turned towards her and decided that he should let her talk first. She didn't disappoint him.

"Sir, can I have a word with you?"

The General turned his cool, calculating eyes on her. They narrowed angrily as he asked.

"How can I help you, Mrs. Rabb?"

Jen flinched from the stare and then blanched, realizing that the General thought she was married to Harm. She decided to explain quickly, lest she and Harm both lose their jobs.

"About that, sir. I want you to know that the Commander and I never had any kind of relationship that would be in violation with the fraternization regulations. The medics on site, who treated me, assumed I was married to the Commander and since it was the easiest way to get information about his condition, I never corrected their mistake. That mistake was also made by the hospital's staff and I didn't explain, again for the same reason. The Commander's parents are currently on a trip through Europe and are unreachable at the moment. And since I was his former ward's room-mate and took care of her while he was on assignments, I am also on his next-of-kin list along with his former ward. If I was believed to be his real family, I would get any info even easier"

Cresswell nodded thoughtfully while listening and his glare abated.

"You do realize, PO, that if they find out you lied, they could file charges against you?"

Jen nodded guiltily and admitted:

"I know, sir, but it was the only thing I could come up with at the moment."

Cresswell was satisfied with that answer and prompted her to state her request, since he was really curious as to what she wanted to say. Moving slightly so a member of the staff could pass, he paused before asking.

"So, what did you want to ask me, Mrs. Rabb?"

Jen was startled, but any worry disappeared when she noticed the humorous twinkle in his eyes. She was relieved that he believed her, since what she was about to say next would test his trust in her.

"First off, I would like to brief you on the Commander's condition, Sir. He has a deep thigh wound from where a piece of wood penetrated it, a concussion from hitting his head on the side window along with numerous bruises and lacerations, accounting for heavy blood loss. It is a miracle he survived. He crashed once in the ambulance on the way here, but was thankfully revived. I am only bruised and have a sprained shoulder. We were very lucky, the Commander's car is a total loss. Sir, it will be awhile before the Commander recuperates and is even let out of the hospital. Both of his parents are over 60, he has no wife or girlfriend and his friends either all have families of their own or can't take care of him because of various reasons. As I am listed as the Commander's next of kin, it is my duty to take the responsibility of helping the Commander recuperate. Oh and sir, it was definitely the other driver's fault, who was drunk. The Commander did everything possible to prevent the crash, but nothing would've prevented it from happening. As it is, he protected me at the cost of his own safety. The other driver later on completely destroyed my car, which was standing at the side of the road, also by crashing into it too and he died in that crash." she was nervous as to what he would say to all of that. She added the last part so the General would not blame Harm for what happened.

Gordon Cresswell knew that these were all perfectly good reasons, but everything had to be above board, so there would be no problems later on. Frankly, he was also concerned about their relationship, because it could cause trouble for them.

------------------

Against popular belief he didn't like to prosecute people for fraternization. Though he did enjoy throwing the book at Col. Farrow, but that was because the Colonel took advantage of a married, young, impressionable and naive woman, who had a tough childhood, making her more receptible to those who made their interest in her known. And PO Coates is definitely neither naive nor impressionable.

While both Petty Officer Coates and Lt. Col. MacKenzie lost their mothers at a young age and had abusive fathers, their personality development went into completely different ways.

While Col. MacKenzie didn't become guarded towards men and still got involved with a number of men over the years even though she was married (he wouldn't be a General if he didn't know everything about his subordinates lives, he had many reliable sources, among them friends in the CIA, former Marines of his), she always got involved with wrong men and had her heart broken. She was very introverted, quiet, a loner and it seemed to Gordon that she was bitter at times, not very happy with her life. While everyone in the office treated each other much like a family even on-duty, she kept her distance by adhering strictly to the protocol and keeping herself closed off in her office. She was somewhat of a loner.

PO Coates, on the other hand, put up strong shields against any man who showed interest in her. Gordon mused that since she got involved with the wrong crowd, that was a very wise decision to make, though it made for a lonely life. He wasn't sure if she ever got involved with any man, since she was wary of them because of her father. She didn't want to get involved with someone like that and chances were, in the group she was, she would get involved with a wrong guy. That way no man would be able to take advantage of her. While the Colonel became introverted, the PO became a cheerful, out-going, social young woman, probably mostly due to her avoiding romantic relationships with men, thus never having her heart broken and not becoming bitter because of it. In the office she exuded friendliness, warmth and caring, never trying to put any distance between her and other members of the staff. Though she stuck to the protocol regarding those above her, she still managed to inject a dose of warmth in her behaviour towards her close friends. Gordon also noticed a wiseness in the young PO's eyes, a wiseness far beyond her years. And before she could become bitter and angry, she was saved by a man who actually cared for his clients. From what Cresswell gleaned out of the rumor mill and reports, the Commander helped her put her life back in order and gave her an incentive to stay on course, unknowingly making her his lifelong devoted friend and ally. He touched her life so deeply, making himself important to her, making her fiercely devoted, protective, loyal and caring of him, by just being himself. He wondered if the Commander was even aware of what he did for Jen by just believing in her and being there for her when she needed someone. The Commander seemed to be oblivious as to what he meant to some people.

The Commander was another example of childhood determining how a person would turn out. Having lost his father at the young age of 6, he learned to build walls around his heart, protecting it from being broken again. Both these walls were not always completely fail-safe. When he was 16, a Vietnamese girl sneaked past these walls, capturing his heart, only to shatter it again when she was killed before his eyes (his old friend Stryker once told him about a young boy who joined him in Vietnam. Gordon realized only recently who that boy was and was astounded as to all the Commander had gone through in his life. He was also very proud to have him under his command, aware of the fact that many carrier Captains and other Commanding Officers would kill to get the Commander under their own command. Heck, they would kill just to get a look into Rabb's complete personnel file). Coupled with the horrors the young man lived through and witnessed during his "Tour" in 'Nam, it further traumatized the young man, making him even more wary of exposing his heart. Which didn't protect him from having his heart broken time and time again throughout his life. But from the reports by his predecessor Admiral Cheggwidden and all the annual psych profiles made on his officers, Gordon surmissed that the Commander has changed alot since Paraguay. He didn't know what happened down there, since it was all classified, but it seemed that the Commander had his heart shattered for the last time. When he returned to JAG, he was not the same man that left 6 months ago. Weary of life and what it did to him, disappointed and disheartened by his failures in his romantic relationships, let down by his friends and the woman he loved, he threw his last reserves into fatherhood of a young, abandoned girl. And dragged a PO in it, however voluntarily she became involved. They created a make-shift family, unconventional as it was, it was still very much more functional than most others, if the fierceness with which the PO protected and cared for him was anything to go by.

-------------


	8. Chapter 8

This strange partnership concerned the General, but he knew enough of the Commander to know, that he would never make a move on the Petty Officer, no matter how sure he was of her feelings for him, as long as the both of them were still in the Navy and liable to fraternization charges.

Another issue came rushing forth in his mind, an issue he'd been meaning to talk to her about for the last week.

He crossed his arms on his chest and leaned against a wall, deciding to just get through with it.

"Petty Officer, there's something else I've been meaning to ask you."

Jen knew what was coming and prepared herself for it.

"Yes, sir. My enlistment, right?"

Gordon was pleased that nothing escaped the intelligent young woman.

"Exactly. Your enlistment is up next month. Have you been thinking about what you will do about it? You are an excellent Yeoman, Admiral Cheggwidden gave you high praise in his fitness reports and even though we had some differences in opinion, I would gladly give my recommendations, if you decide to re-enlist."

Jen bit her lip, knowing that the moment of truth had arrived. She'd been avoiding thinking about it, but with the latest developments in her life, she was now sure of her decision.

"Yes, sir. I have decided not to re-enlist and would like this leave to count as terminal leave."

"Oh?" the General raised his eyebrows in surprise. 'Maybe there is more to their relationship than I thought. But, there is no proof of it and since she's leaving, I won't be making it an issue.'

"Yes, sir. For the past month I've been receiving some job offers from legal firms in D.C.. They are for a limited time and they are part time jobs." which was the complete truth. But before the accident happened she never intended to accept any. Now it was different. After seeing in each other's eyes what they saw, she knew she could not be content with just being Harm's friend anymore. She wanted more. The crash made her very aware that we sometimes live on borrowed time and she didn't want to have any regrets if something happened to either of them in the future.

"And why would you quit a full time job for a part time job?" Gordon wanted to know, interested in what her plans were.

"I've been studying Psychology for little more than a year now. The jobs I've been offered are all well paid, I will be earning with a part time job as much as I was earning full time in the Navy and this will give me more time to work on my studies and there won't be any chances of me being sent to a warzone anymore." she shuddered at the memory of what happened the last time. She had it all planned out. Now if only he would accept her reasoning.

"I'm assuming the Commander knows of your plans?" questioned Gordon, curious as to whether they planned it together.

"Uh, not all of the plans, sir. The Commander did encourage me to start College and to study, but he doesn't know about my plans of leaving."

'That man is definitely very good for her. Not only did he help her get her life back in order, he's even actively encouraging her to become something much more, helping her build her confidence and overcome her self-imposed limitations. If there is something more between them, I wish them the best of luck. They really belong together.'

"Ah" he thought for a while before continuing "Well, if that is so, then you have my blessing. If you need a recommendations from your ex-employer for your new job, just stop by and I'll gladly write it up. The paperwork for your retirement will go through without delay so you can go forth with your plans."

He knew he made the right decision judging by the happy smile Jen had on her face. Deciding to be a little bold and wanting to see the brash young PO squirm just a little, he just plowed on.

"As for your other plans" he glanced at the door to the Commander's room and was gratified to see her squirm uncomfortably. He smiled an evil, little smile and continued "As of right now you're on terminal leave and no longer subject to Navy's regs. As I said, as for your other plans, I hope they work out the best possible way."

Jen smiled hesitantly, not sure if he meant it the way she thought he did. But the brief evil smile she thought she saw, just confirmed her suspicions. This man just kept surprising her.

With that the General shoved away from the wall he was leaning on and started down the corridor. Just when Jen was meaning to turn around and again enter Harm's room and continue her vigil, he stopped and looked at her over his shoulder.

What he said next completely floored her.

"Make that man happy, Jen" he said gently "God knows you both deserve it. I have never even seen him smile. I want to see smiles on both of your faces before the year is over and I expect a wedding invitation in my mail by the next Christmas."

The shock from hearing the words caused Jen to choke on her own breath. While she was recovering from the shock, the General resumed his determined stride down the corridor, all the while laughing a little diabolicaly. It reminded Jen a little of the criminals from bad B movies when their plans worked. Shaking her head she turned around and entered Harm's room.

Meanwhile Gordon was walking down the corridor, feeling pretty good about himself and still chuckling. Seeing a nurse looking at him oddly, he suddenly realized where he was and decided it would be better he stopped laughing, lest he wanted to be kept there for a psych eval. Composing himself he gave the nurse a glare that made her scurry away and hurried out of the hospital before the men in white with a straight-jacket could appear.

He was glad about how the hospital visit turned out, because no-one except for his wife knew that he was a romantic at heart. He had to keep the image of a strong-fisted no-sense-of-humour General, unless he wished for the office to become lax from the knowledge that he was a softy in reality. That would just not do. Wanting to keep them on their toes, he decided to drop by the office a little before closing time, even though he said he wouldn't be returning that day anymore. After all, an alert office was an efficient office...

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


	9. Chapter 9

AN: sorry for the late update, but my day was quite busy and couldn't update sooner.

------------------------------------

------------------------------------

------------------------------------

RABB RESIDENCE

0346 AM local

15th November 2006

Jen smiled at the memory of her talk to the General. He basically gave her and Harm his blessing for them to have a relationship.

------------------------------

When Harm finally awoke, she was sitting by his side, as she had been since they had arrived at the hospital.

At first he thought he'd died and gone to heaven and it was an angel gazing at him with such a tender expression.

But after concluding that if he were dead, then why would he need to be in a hospital bed? Surely, if you die, you are completely healthy (sort of, except for the fact that you are dead) and don't need monitoring equipment attached to you.

Plus, angels probably don't look as exhausted as this one did. It took him only a second to re-orient himself and realize it was Jen that was looking so lovingly at him. Then what had happened to them flashed through his mind, along with their final unspoken messages to each other just before they struck the barn.

Jen has decided even before her talk to Cresswell that she wouldn't be wasting time. Time was a precious commodity. Too precious to waste. The events of the last few days proved that to her.

Therefore she would just take the bull by it's horns and plow forth.

She took a deep breath and cupped his cheek with her hand, which startled Harm, since he didn't expect such bold behaviour from her while anyone could walk in on them.

What she did next stunned him even more.

Slowly she leaned in towards him and softly touched her lips to his in a brief, loving kiss that said everything.

Soon, too soon in Harm's opinion, she drew back and looked him straight in the eyes. With an intense, determined look in her own she spoke slowly, making sure that he wouldn't misunderstand her.

"I love you, Harm. More than that, I'm in love with you. I know I'm breaking our silent agreement of not speaking about it, but I've had it. I almost lost you and my biggest regret would've been not acting on our feelings. I don't want to waste any more time."

Harm opened his mouth to say something, but Jen cut him off by placing a finger on his lips, signaling him to be quiet.

"Shh. Don't say anything, let me speak first."

When Harm nodded Jen removed her finger and moved her chair closer to his bed. Then she cupped his cheek with one hand and with the other she took his hand. She needed this contact right now.

"I spoke to the General. About our feelings for each other."

Harm's eyes bugged out in shock, but she didn't let it deter her.

"He knows. He knew even before. The General told me he won't pursue any action against us, but we need to be discrete. He gave us his blessing."

Which was the truth, but not the whole truth. She didn't want to tell him about her not re-enlisting nor about the General's comment about waiting for a wedding invitation just yet, because she had already dumped too much on him. Considering the way he looked at that moment, he might just pass out if he knew everything.

"I just need to know one thing. Do you want to give 'us' a chance? I'm not looking for any declarations of love from you, because I know you love me. You'fe proved it so many times and I don't doubt it. I just need to know if you are willing to risk your heart for me. I promise I won't hurt it and will take very good care of it."

She waited for him to speak, but nothing came out for several seconds. Finally realizing what the problem was she said: "You can speak now."

Harm let out a half-smile and started slowly.

"I love you... too, Jen. I had... to.. tell you. I want 'us'."

That was all it was needed. A multi-million megawatt smile lit up Jen's face for the first time in quite a while. Her smile ignited his own and soon they were grinning at each other like fools.

Then she leaned in again and their lips had better things to do than to support goofy grins.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Harm was released from the hospital a few weeks later with appointments for his physio therapy.

Jen moved into his apartment to keep a better eye on him. She spent the first two nights on the couch despite Harm's protests that they can share the bed. After all, he was in no condition for any shenanigans. During those nights she'd endured on the couch, she realized one truth Mac had found out years earlier: Harm's apartment was just too cold at night to spend it on the couch. She finally gave up at around 3 AM on the second night, grabbed her pillow and headed for his bedroom.

Trying to avoid hurting him or upseting his healing injuries she was literally clinging to the side of the bed. Soon after she fell asleep.

When she woke up, her position was somewhat different. Okay, alot different.

During the night she moved. She went from avoiding any contact in the fear of hurting him to waking up in his arms. She was pressed into him, her head on his chest, on the other side of his wounded leg. His right arm anchored her to him. She sighed happily and went back to sleep.

Both were acting shy when they woke up some time later, but a good morning kiss was nonetheless exchanged.

The day later became a flurry of events, from conducting usual chores, for which Harm needed Jen's help, to having visits from friends and family, who also visited him in the hospital.

All of his closest friends, along with General Cresswell to Harm's surprise and discomfort, and his parents visited with him all through the day. Harm had the sneaky suspicion that they had agreed on some kind of 'visiting hours'. But he was still very grateful to them. Mac was the first to arrive and stayed the longest. After observing how Jen tended to Harm in the hospital and the General's cryptic smile, Mac soon figured out what was going on. She was truly happy that her friend had finally found happiness in his life and made sure she'd told him so. She'd also realized that this was nothing like his previous relationships and treated Jen very kindly and friendly, unlike Harm's previous girlfriends. It warmed Harm's heart to see the woman he loves and his old friend (currently rebuilding friendship after the debacle of Paraguay and her relationship with Webb) get along so well.

Bud and Harriett visited, but had to return home soon. Sturgis showed up, there was another friendship in the rebuilding phase. Even Mattie and her father stopped by.

Frank and Trish were saddened to tell him they had to leave the same day for home again. They had arrived only 4 days after his crash and spent most of their time with him and Jen, getting to know Jen better since it was obvious to them that she would be part of their lives for decades to come. Frank was needed back and Harm had finally managed to persuade Trish that Jen was able to take care of him and he didn't need anyone else. With a heavy heart Trish realized that her little boy was little boy no longer. He was a fully grown man who didn't need her help anymore and who had a woman of his own to take care of him. After making him promise to stay in contact and after she made sure Jen would keep her updated, they departed for the airport.

Harm was exhausted again after so much activity over the day so Jen made sure he took a nap.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

AN: UP NEXT: this fic is wrapping up in the next part also. I'm thinking of writing two different endings. Because of that I need your help: what post could Harm take as a JAG Captain that would keep him in the area? Tnx.


	10. Chapter 10

AN: I would like to thank you all for sticking with this story and for all the nice reviews I received. Also thank you for suggestions for Harm's new career. There are now two versions and you can decide which you like best.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The next day she had finally told him of the other points of her deal with Cresswell. Understandably Harm was upset that she was giving up her career and not he, but after she made it clear to him that she wanted it and that there was no way she would've changed her mind, he finally gave up. That made him doubly more determined to make Jen happy for the rest of her life.

Jen took care of Harm while he was recuperating and attended his every appointment with him. They were still calling her Mrs. Rabb.

Neither Harm nor her ever corrected them.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

After Jen was officially out of the Navy they started openly dating. When they made love for the first time 5 months later (they decided to go slow and insure they would work as a couple first before complicating their relationship with sex), Harm was surprised to discover Jen was still a virgin. He was truly flattered that she deemed him the only man worthy of making love to. When, after their love making, he questioned her on that fact, she just looked him in the eyes and said: "I was never comfortable with penetration before with any of the men I was with. Harm, you know in what kind of company I've spent so many years of my life. None of those men were worthy of giving my virginity to. Plus, the fact that I am a Reverend's daughter had a lot to do with it too. You are the only man I feel comfortable doing it with and the only one worthy of making love to me." To say that Harm was flattered to have been bestowed such an honor is an understatement. It just made him love her more.

They were married one year after the crash in a private ceremony on top of a cliff near La Jolla with only their closest friends and family present. General Cresswell walked Jen down the path towards a beaming, completely besotted Harm. Despite being a professional woman, Jen decided to take Harm's last name, not even hyphenating, as a way for a fresh start on life. No longer was she Jennifer Coates, the daughter of her abusive father Conrad Coates, now she was Mrs. Jennifer Rabb, a woman completely in love with her husband.

A few months later they found out she was pregnant with their son. After an uneventful (for her, while Harm had to wake up at 2 AM to go to stores to buy weird foods and deal with hormones, mood swings,.. but he loved her even more) and problem-free pregnancy, she gave birth to their son after a C-section. That was decided upon with her doctor during her pregnancy because of her too narrow hips and it was not because of an emergency during labor.

After a lot of debating Jen had finally won and named their son Harmon Rabb III.. Harm just hoped the kid wouldn't hate them later in life for a name like that.

'On the other hand, it's MUCH better than James KIRK Roberts' Harm shuddered at the thought of the ridicule the boy would have to endure his whole life just because his father was such a devoted Trekkie. 'Poor kid. There are times I wouldn't wish Bud on my greatest enemy. Like having him name their children.'

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jen finished her studies and received numerous offers by several prestigious clinics and private practices. She finally decided on the one with the best working hours, with the additional benefits of being close to home and offering a nice pay.

HARM'S CAREER VERSION #1:

Harm was promoted to Captain the next year. Due to his arrangement with Cresswell he retired soon after, with Captain's rank and pension. He decided long ago that if he ever had a family, he would give up his flight status, so there would be no chance of condemning them to his mother's and his grandmother's fate. He would not risk being killed on some battlefield, leaving a family behind. Law firms all over the country and many governmental agencies and organisations were literally fighting over who would get the best lawyer JAG had to offer, who is also the foremost expert on Maritime Law and International relations.

He finally took the offer of a goverment agency dealing with Maritime Law and legalislation.

HARM'S CAREER VERSION #2:

Harm was promoted to Captain the next year and transferred to the Pentagon to be Commander Naval Air Forces's (COMNAVAIRFOR/CNAF) legal advisor. After the COMNAVAIRFOR realized Harm's potential and talents, he made him his Second in Command (2IC), the one who would take over the job after he (COMNAVAIRFOR) retired. Rumors say, that Harm is on his way to become one of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS).

---------------------------------------

---------------------------------------

These combined pay checks made for a very comfortable living, combined with the fact that they didn't have to spend money on a house, since it was a wedding present from his parents.

Harm and Jen's marriage was a success story and there were very few who doubted it would last, after meeting the couple.

Yes, the Rabbs were having a good life.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

RABB RESIDENCE

0407 AM local

15th November 2006

Harm hasn't returned to bed in a long time and Jen got up to see what was holding him up. Entering the nursery her heart melted at the sight.

Harm was softly singing to their sleeping son, with the radio providing the melody, while looking out the window.

He sensed her and turned around, extending the arm with which he wasn't holding the baby, motioning for her to come to him.

Jen crossed the room silently, slipping into his loving embrace, loving the feel of his arm wrapping around her.

'Yes' she thought 'it was definitely worth it. If I had to do it all over again, I wouldn't even hesitate. This is where I belong. This is where I'm supposed to be. And this is where I'll stay, no matter what life throws at us. Because we were simply meant to be.'

And the Rabbs continued swaying gently to the music, everything being right.

Simply because they were meant to be.

THE END


End file.
